Landlords need to be more realistic

Swans1912

Cleaver wrote: »

I love the idea that owners are perfect neighbours whereas renters are some form of anti-social scum!

I live in flats and know a load of my neighbours, at least enough to say hello to and have a chat with. I have no idea which are renters and which are owners.

P.S. I have completely paraphrased you in a totally unfair way there Lindsaym. Sorry about that!

Home Owner for next door = Neighbor From Hell

New Tenants for next door = Perfect Neighbors (I do understand this can change however - just don't want to LL back!)

IveSeenTheLight

iKennett wrote: »

Home Owner for next door = Neighbor From Hell

New Tenants for next door = Perfect Neighbors (I do understand this can change however - just don't want to LL back!)

Its a Forest Gumpiasm.
"My momma said, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatya gonna get"

Nick_Knock

I have a little cottage up for rent and I have found its not about the people wanting the cottage (holding deposit has been paid twice now) its about the credit checks which have to be done - which unfortunately alot of people fail. Fingers crossed for the second application!

My Mum works for a rental agency (very successful one at that) - last week she took holding deposits on five properties - three of those did not go through due to 1. loosing their job 2. bad credit - they did not know that they had CCJ's

You would be surprised at the number of people who don't know that they have CCJ's (I thought it was impossible not to know - but there you are)

Personally, as a LL I would rather my little cottage sat empty for a couple of months then get the wrong person in there i.e someone who is not going to pay the rent. So for me, I need someone who has a good credit rating so that I can get the rent guarantee. It seams that these are few and far between!

lostinrates

Nick_Knock wrote: »

Personally, as a LL I would rather my little cottage sat empty for a couple of months then get the wrong person in there i.e someone who is not going to pay the rent. So for me, I need someone who has a good credit rating so that I can get the rent guarantee. It seams that these are few and far between!

I can see that point. However, way back in spring I noticed a suitable-ish property for us to rent while we wait to buy- but I felt it significantly over valued and suggested an offer might be acceptable, and suggested to sweeten the offer we would pay the full term in advance in addition to credit checks. The rent it turned out was non-negotiable and it has shown up sporadicaly being advertised at the same rent. My guess is the landlord has no mortgage on it and so is not taking 'a loss' but it seems a bizarre logic not to 'make a gain' over not earning anything for it for...ooh, 8 months since I enquired about it .

IveSeenTheLight

Nick_Knock wrote: »

I have a little cottage up for rent and I have found its not about the people wanting the cottage (holding deposit has been paid twice now) its about the credit checks which have to be done - which unfortunately alot of people fail. Fingers crossed for the second application!

My Mum works for a rental agency (very successful one at that) - last week she took holding deposits on five properties - three of those did not go through due to 1. loosing their job 2. bad credit - they did not know that they had CCJ's

You would be surprised at the number of people who don't know that they have CCJ's (I thought it was impossible not to know - but there you are)

Personally, as a LL I would rather my little cottage sat empty for a couple of months then get the wrong person in there i.e someone who is not going to pay the rent. So for me, I need someone who has a good credit rating so that I can get the rent guarantee. It seams that these are few and far between!

I swear by credit checks as well, however there are ways round this.
I know a fellow landlord that had a tenant with a poor credit rating partially because they were self employed and work was sporadic. The tenant paid a full 6 months in advance rent and 2 months deposit to secure the property.

I have a tenant going through a credit check at the moment and they have offered to start with 3 months upfront payment and maintain that until they hand their notice in.
Effectively, I believe this is a way of increasing the notice period to be provided by both parties from 2/1 to 3/3 and provide more security for the tenant.
I assured them this was not a problem and if they were good tenants, paid on time that I would be a good landlord which they could keep the property for as long as they wanted.
I think they must have had a poor LL before, so I will be a pleasure for them

IveSeenTheLight

lostinrates wrote: »

I can see that point. However, way back in spring I noticed a suitable-ish property for us to rent while we wait to buy- but I felt it significantly over valued and suggested an offer might be acceptable, and suggested to sweeten the offer we would pay the full term in advance in addition to credit checks. The rent it turned out was non-negotiable and it has shown up sporadicaly being advertised at the same rent. My guess is the landlord has no mortgage on it and so is not taking 'a loss' but it seems a bizarre logic not to 'make a gain' over not earning anything for it for...ooh, 8 months since I enquired about it .

It's quite possible rightly or wrongly that the owner found you too much of a risk.

macaque_2

Nick_Knock wrote: »

I have a little cottage up for rent and I have found its not about the people wanting the cottage (holding deposit has been paid twice now) its about the credit checks which have to be done - which unfortunately alot of people fail. Fingers crossed for the second application!

My Mum works for a rental agency (very successful one at that) - last week she took holding deposits on five properties - three of those did not go through due to 1. loosing their job 2. bad credit - they did not know that they had CCJ's

You would be surprised at the number of people who don't know that they have CCJ's (I thought it was impossible not to know - but there you are)

Personally, as a LL I would rather my little cottage sat empty for a couple of months then get the wrong person in there i.e someone who is not going to pay the rent. So for me, I need someone who has a good credit rating so that I can get the rent guarantee. It seams that these are few and far between!

People get financial problems for lots of reasons and these are often one off events. Under your philosophy a black mark on someone's credit record is grounds for denying them a roof over their head. Your attitude gives me the creeps.

When landlords behave disgracefully and dishonestly towards tenants (as often happens) there is little protection for the tenant and no way for prospective tenants to do a 'landlord check'.

carolt

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

Great. The economy takes a turn for the worse and Landlords are expected to go bankrupt so that their tenants can afford the rent. How's that work then?

Maybe your company should reduce your wages so that they can sell their products more cheaply. That would help tenants to pay their rent.

As a LL, I am realistic. I set the rent based on many factors, mainly market rate, costs and risk. If the risk of tenants defaulting is increasing, guess what happens to the rent.

GG

No, can't guess.

What does happen? I can't see why raising the rent for people who'd already have difficulty paying is going to help them pay. But that seems to be your point?

IveSeenTheLight

macaque wrote: »

People get financial problems for lots of reasons and these are often one off events. Under your philosophy a black mark on someone's credit record is grounds for denying them a roof over their head. Your attitude gives me the creeps.

When landlords behave disgracefully and dishonestly towards tenants (as often happens) there is little protection for the tenant and no way for prospective tenants to do a 'landlord check'.

Asking for a credit check is not disgraceful or dishonourable, its professional and responsible.

As a tenant, it should give you confidence that landlords are doing adequate checks prior to agreeing a tenancy. It hopefully should ive you confidence ha he landlord is professional and responsile and be a better LL to have.

as for not being able to check up on the LL, you are incorrect.
I am a registered landlord with the government under the Landlord Registration Scheme.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2006/04/28144943

Its an offence to be otherwise

It is now an offence for private landlords in Scotland to let property without having applied to be registered. Landlords could face a fine or have their rent withheld if they avoid registering.

The latest figures for registration show that over 30,000 landlords have applied and have registered over 75,000 properties.
Based on research evidence, it has been estimated that there are around 40,000 landlords in Scotland. Data from the 2001 Census indicates there are around 170,000 properties in the private rented sector.

Deputy Communities Minister Johann Lamont said:
"Registration of private landlords will improve the private rented sector by removing the worst landlords from the market and giving tenants the confidence that their landlord is upholding standards.

"From today, councils can act against landlords who are unsuitable or refuse to register. Already we have seen around 75,000 properties registered, meaning the councils know where the property is and who the landlord is, should any issues arise.
"We know there have been teething problems with the online registration system, and this has meant that some applicants have not been able to use the system at some times. I recognise this can be frustrating, but the fact that so many properties are registered already shows that people are registering and the system is working.
"The register will build up as councils process the applications. It will allow existing tenants to check that their landlord is registered and people looking to rent to check registrations before taking out a lease.
"Anyone who is already renting property and has not applied should use the registration website or contact their council as soon as possible."

Registration of private landlords has a number of aims:

<LI class=MsoNormal>

improve private renting in Scotland by enforcing minimum standards in letting <LI class=MsoNormal>oblige those not providing this minimum service to improve, or leave the sector <LI class=MsoNormal>allow tenants, neighbours and local authorities to identify and contact landlords and agents of private rented property
[*]provide information on scale and distribution of private rented sector in ScotlandUnder Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, private landlords must apply for registration with their local authority. It will be an offence to let any house after April 30 without being registered or having applied to be registered. Unregistered landlords face having their rental income withheld or a £5,000 fine.

To place a landlord on their register, the local authority will have to be satisfied that they are a fit and proper person to let property.

The authority can take into account any relevant information including:

<LI class=MsoNormal>

any relevant convictions, particularly in relation to fraud, violence or drugs <LI class=MsoNormal>any evidence that the applicant has failed to take adequate steps to deal with antisocial behaviour in his or her properties <LI class=MsoNormal>any evidence that the applicant has failed to comply with the law relating to housing or letting, including management, money and physical issues <LI class=MsoNormal>any evidence that the applicant has practised illegal discrimination in any business activity
[*]the fact and nature of an agency arrangement for the management of the property6. The Executive has set fees of £55 per landlord and £11 per property. The fees are charged to cover the cost of running the registration scheme. Applications online are quicker and cheaper than postal paper applications and offer a 10% discount. Paper applications can also be made by contacting the local authority in which the houses let are located.

carolt

Great idea. But it doesn't apply in England, does it?